Apple is investigating claims that a US woman’s iPhone 7 Plus “exploded” and caught fire.

Brianna Olivas, 18, from Tucson, Arizona, was sleeping with the phone nearby when her boyfriend noticed it smoking and emitting a strange noise.

He moved the phone away from her and took a video, which has gone viral, in which the handset can clearly be seen emitting smoke.

Apple has replaced both the phone and the case that were damaged.

Image copyrightBrianna Olivas/Twitter

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The video of smoke coming from Brianna’s phone after it “blew up” has been viewed over a million times.

Brianna told the BBC that she had noticed a problem with the phone, which she bought in January, the day before it caught fire.

“It wouldn’t turn on so I took it into a store,” she said.

“They were able to get the phone on and ran diagnostics. They said nothing was wrong with it and everything was fine.”

Image copyrightBrianna Olivas/Twitter

But the next morning she woke to discover her phone on fire.

“I sleep with my phone next to me. It was on the bed right next to my head. My boyfriend actually moved the phone to the dresser and went into the bathroom,” she said.

“From the corner of his eye he saw the phone smoking and heard a squealing noise coming from it. I woke up because I heard the noise and then he started raising his voice.”

Brianna’s boyfriend grabbed the phone and moved it into the bathroom.

“Right when he put it there, it blew up and even more smoke was coming out,” she said. “The phone smelt so bad. I can’t really explain the smell but it was really strong. It made the whole apartment smell.”

Image copyrightBrianna Olivas

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Brianna’s burnt phone

Despite the problem with Brianna’s phone, there is no indication of a widespread problem with iPhone handsets.

A spokesperson told digital media website Mashable that the firm was “looking into” the issue.

But Brianna’s not sleeping with her phone so close for the time being.